How to choose tires

No tire does it all. You might get longer-wearing tread, for example, at the expense of grip. Generally, stick with the type of tire that came with your car. If switching to a different type, check your owner's manual. Make sure the new tires have the same or greater speed and load ratings as your original tires. Start with Types to determine the proper type of tire for your vehicle.

Safety first. Concentrate on handling, braking, and hydroplaning. Let ride, comfort, noise, tread wear, and rolling resistance be tiebreakers.

Be aware of tire warranties. The warranties offered with most tires are prorated. The more miles on the tire, the less credit you get on a replacement. And most don't cover damage resulting from potholes or other road hazards.

Shop around. Tire prices vary by region, retailer, or even the price of the raw materials used to produce them. Check independent and chain tire stores, online or mail-order stores. Find out whether the price of tires includes mounting and balancing.

Buy fresh. Look at the sidewall of a tire for a designation beginning with DOT, for Department of Transportation. The last four digits indicate the week and the year of manufacture. For example, 3306 means the tire was made during the thirty-third week of 2006. Don't purchase tires that are more than a few years old.

Winterize wisely. Mounting just two winter tires is asking for trouble. If you need winter tires, mount them on all four wheels to maintain balanced handling and secure grip. Switch back to summer tires after the cold season. True winter tires have a symbol with a mountain and snowflake on the sidewall. "Mud and snow" or "M&S" is not a designation of winter-tire performance.